Flag Storage on a Shipboard Museum

Spacesaver helps protect collections in museums of all shapes and sizes, even when they’re located in places that were never intended to be used as museums. The USS Yorktown, for example, was an aircraft carrier before being decommissioned by the US Navy fifty years ago. It’s now anchored at Patriot’s Point near Charleston, S.C., where it serves as a maritime museum.

Among the artifacts stored on board is a collection of flags that commemorate the ship and the times during which it sailed. Finding a way to organize and properly store the museum’s historic flags was a challenging task, especially given the oddly shaped spaces that were designated for museum storage onboard the vessel.

Museum staff worked with the nearby Spacesaver consultant to design a storage system for the flags that makes the most of limited space in one of the storage areas. They designed seven cantilever rolled textile racks, which can be precisely configured to accommodate flags of various sizes. Most of the racks feature five levels of textile rolls per side, but the ship’s mechanical systems created obstructions in some areas, creating the need for only four levels on some sides.

When the time came to install the racks, they were gently lowered, piece by piece, down the ship’s stairs and around tight corners. Factory-certified technicians from the nearby Spacesaver distributorship assembled them on site.